Totally captivated by the youth's looks and anguished at the thought of such beauty being destroyed, Episthenes tried to intervene in the public execution of a remarkably handsome teenage boy he had never seen before. He begged the executioner to stop and offered his own life in place of the boy's. After some discussion, in which friends testified to Episthenes bravery in battle and his passion for beautiful boys, the handsome youth was spared, and Episthenes walked off with him.